Against a dark blue background we see two sine waves shifted out of phase with eachother
May 12, 2025
Different anesthetics, same result: unconsciousness by shifting brainwave phase
Neurons glow green against a black background in a section of a mouse brain. A few red specks can be seen. An inset magnifies one of these cells that has red and green staining.
April 28, 2025
Dopamine signals when a fear can be forgotten
A 2 by 2 array of panels that each show a hairpin-like shape of blue stained cells. The left column is laberled "Ambient light/sound." The right column is labeled "40Hz Stimulation." The panels in the 40Hz column show more yellow arrows pointing white blotches than the panels in the ambient column.
April 24, 2025
In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity
Emery Brown sits behind his desk in his MIT office. A teddy bear rests nestled among some books on a shelf behind him, just over his right shoulder.
April 21, 2025
In kids, EEG monitoring of consciousness safely reduces anesthetic use
In a grayscale image a wiggly worm is seen in a vertical orientation above a lumpy background of bacteria
April 8, 2025
A simple animal’s response to sickness highlights the nervous system’s surprising degrees of flexibility

Better living through brain chemistry

September 6, 2024
Research Feature
Studying neuromodulators such as serotonin and norepinephrine could help make them better targets for psychiatric or psychedelic drugs

Picower retreats advance science by giving researchers a chance to step back from the lab

September 2, 2024
Picower People
Every year members of The Picower Institute find they can explore new ideas and interactions by experiencing the change of scenery afforded by the Dana and Betty Fisher retreat

Study assesses seizure risk from stimulating thalamus

August 21, 2024
Research Findings
In awake mice, researchers found that even low stimulation currents could sometimes still cause electrographic seizures

Talented high schoolers excel while they explore the brain

August 14, 2024
Picower People
Two teens who spent their summer in Picower Institute labs via MIT outreach programs gained exposure to neuroscience they can carry with them to college

Study reveals ways in which 40Hz sensory stimulation may preserve brain’s ‘white matter’

August 8, 2024
Research Findings
MIT scientists report that gamma frequency light and sound stimulation preserves myelination in mouse models and reveal molecular mechanisms that may underlie the benefit.

Method enables fast, accurate estimates of cardiovascular state to inform blood pressure management

July 25, 2024
Research Findings
A new mathematical method, validated with experimental animal data, provides a fast, reliable and minimally invasive way of determining how to treat critical blood pressure changes during surgery or intensive care.

Study across multiple brain regions discerns Alzheimer’s vulnerability and resilience factors

July 24, 2024
Research Findings
Genomics and lab studies reveal numerous findings, including a key role for Reelin amid neuronal vulnerability, and for choline and antioxidants in sustaining cognition.

HHMI honor will advance Flavell’s studies of how internal brain states arise and affect behavior

July 23, 2024
Picower People
In animals from worms to humans, feelings and drives such as hunger or sleepiness influence behavior. With flexible, long-term support as a newly named HHMI Investigator, Steve Flavell will advance his lab’s studies of exactly how that happens.

Study reveals how an anesthesia drug induces unconsciousness

July 15, 2024
Research Findings
Propofol, a drug commonly used for general anesthesia, derails the brain’s normal balance between stability and excitability.

Fellowship supports student’s work to advance Alzheimer’s research and equity

July 9, 2024
Picower People
With strong personal motivation and up to three years of support from the HHMI Gilliam Fellows Program, graduate student Mingus Rae Zoller will probe mysteries of Alzheimer’s and its possible treatment.

Award will enable detailed study of an organism that constantly adds new neurons

July 8, 2024
Picower People
With an eye on implications for regenerative medicine, Assistant Professor Brady Weissbourd will use the support of being named a Searle Scholar to study how jellyfish excel at building and regenerating their neural networks.

Fellowship enables study of how the brain makes memories of places

July 1, 2024
Picower People
With a new Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship in Neuroscience, Assistant Professor Linlin Fan will seek to strengthen understanding of how neural connections change to encode memories of specific locations.